Reviews | Written by Samantha Ward 05/05/2015

SWORDS OF SORROW #1 & SWORDS OF SORROW: CHAOS (PREQUEL)

SWORDS OF SORROW #1 & SWORDS OF SORROW: CHAOS (PREQUEL)

A fantastical pulp adventure with Dynamite's most fierce female heroines and villains! Who doesn't love a great female hero kicking ass or even a female villain wreaking havoc and chaos? If you are one of the smart ones then this should most certainly excite you. Swords of Sorrow is the heart of this new crossover, starring our favourite female powers, Red Sonja, Vampirella and Jennifer Blood just to name a few.

Gail Simone is the lead writer, well known for writing brave female characters and currently writing the Red Sonja main series after just finishing a recently well received run writing Batgirl for DC. Simone sets the story with issue 1 by introducing these mighty heroines; some you will be very familiar with but others such as Masquerade, Jungle Girl or Lady Zorro may be lost on you. That's the magic of it though. Dynamite have been doing very well with the Red Sonja run that they are taking great leaps to shed the spotlight on some of the lesser known female stars.

You don't have to be familiar with these characters to follow the story, though. Like Simone, writer Mairghread Scott introduces our antagonists with short but sweet background and history in Swords of Sorrow: Chaos; a prequel which sets up the plot through the point of view of the evil masterminds. There will be more one-shot tie-ins and mini-series, all written by great female writers, making this a rather rare event.

This is very exciting as there hasn't ever been such a large female lead series before now, and it may be all female heroes and writers, but it doesn't exclude the male readers. It's as aggressive and hard hitting as many popular pulp stories, staying true to the character's traits, strengths and vulnerabilities. Having said that, it is rather amusing that Simone's series begins with each heroine receiving a shiny, magical weapon (the Swords of Sorrow) from a wise but burly man, guiding them towards their quest. Despite that, however, this fantasy tale ticks all the boxes, remaining sexy but in that strong female empowerment kind of way. The best kind!